Dragon Age: Rhazariel Prologue
by Keirkan
Summary: The beginning to a series I plan to do as a set up to a Dragon Age RPG I plan to run in the future. The setting is Dragon Age Origins, just before the beginning of the Fifth Blight.


~~Prologue: Intruders~~

The sound of heavy footfalls filled the otherwise normally quit forest, heavy breathing and whimpering as three human men were racing. Clearly fleeing from something it seemed. At the head of the three was a human clad in a blue tunic and trousers. The man looked back to see if his companions were still behind him, just as he looked back to the path ahead he slide to a stop falling onto his behind at the feet of a male Dalish elf with his bow drawn and aimed right at his chest.

"It's a Dalish!" The man cried crawling backwards a few inches as his companions catch up. Both stopping on either side. He gestures toward the visible Tamlen.

"And you three are somewhere you shouldn't be" Tamlen retorts in a tone of annoyance, bow still drawn and an arrow knocked.

"Let us pass elf! You have no right to stop us!" The man in blue's companion, dressed in green, on the left calls out boldly.

"No? We will see about that won't we?" Tamlen replies as Rhazariel steps now into view of the humans, the one that had fallen now getting up with assistance from his comrade on his the right. Tamlen casts a glance toward Rhazariel as she falls in beside him, bow also drawn and arrow knocked. "Your just in time, I found these humans lurking in the bushes. Bandits no doubt." He pulls the arrow back slightly.

"We aren't bandits I swear!" the human clad in the green dirtied tunic cries out immediately voice shaking with fear. "Please don't hurt us!"

"You shemlen are pathetic," Tamlen begins as both he and Rhazariel advance toward them now slowly. "It's hard to believe you ever drove us from our homeland."

"We've never done nothing to you Dalish! We didn't even know this forest was yours!" Called the human now standing toward the back of the three clad in an also dirty but yellow tunic. The third, and one that had previously fallen, in blue remained silent.

"This forest isn't ours fool you've stumbled too close to our camp, you shems are like vermin. We can't trust you not to make mischief." Tamlen replies in a scolding and cold tone, arrow still trained. "What do you say, Lethalan? What should we do with them?"

The female elf, Rhazariel was silent a moment eyeing the three curiously but making sure to keep her arrow drawn back on her bow and aimed. After a moment she replied "Let's find out what they're doing here."

"Does it matter?" Tamlen shot back. "Hunting or banditry, we'll need to move camp if we let them live!" He turned his gaze on her but she did turn her eyes to him, keeping them on the three.

"L... Look we didn't come here to be trouble." The human in the blue tunic finally spoke up waving his hands in front of him. "We just found a cave."

"Yes!" his companion in green cried out not even a second after. "a cave! With ruins like I've never seen! We thought there might be uh…"

"Treasure? So your more akin to thieves than actual bandits" Tamlen remarked in sarcasm.

Rhazariel's brows furrowed. "We know this forest. There are caves, but no ruins. You lie."

"But I-I-I have proof!" The human in green cried out reaching into a side pouch hurriedly and pulling something out. "Here we found this just inside the entrance" He added handing it to Tamlen who had now relaxed his bow and held out his hand as the stone was placed into it. He studied it a moment while Rhazariel kept her arrow trained on the three.

"This stone has carvings." He tuned the stone in his hand and then regarded what was on it again. "Is this elvish? Written Elvish?" Rhazariel's gaze faltered from the humans to Tamlen but before she could say anything the human added.

"There's more in the ruins! We didn't go very far in though."

"Why not?" Rhazariel took her gaze from the stone in Tamlen's hand as his stashed the stone in a pouch on his belt and re-drew his arrow on the bow.

"There was a demon! It was huge, with black eyes! Thank the maker we were able to out-run it!" The human in the green tunic replied his facial expression belaying that he was clearly afraid.

Tamlen scoffed "huh a demon, where is this cave?" Clearly growing bored of the three.

"Just off the west, I think." The man in green replied. "There's a cave in the rock face, and a huge hole just inside."

"Well? Do you trust them? Shall we let them go?" Tamlen asked regarding Rhazariel.

"You've frightened them enough. They won't bother us" Rhazariel replied regarding the frightened state of the three.

Tamlen seemed disappointed by the answer but returned his gaze to the three shems (humans). "Run along then shems but don't come back until we Dalish have moved on." He warned drawing the arrow back to prove a point.

"Of course! Thank you! Thank you!" The human in green cried as his companions turned and fled, then he himself followed while Tamlen and Rhazariel relaxed their bows and returned their arrows to their quivers. The shems were gone in mere moments.

Tamlen replaced his bow on his back and stepped forward, his tone changing with the humans now gone. Rhazariel hesitated a moment before she did the same with her own bow then fidgeted with her leather bracers, as she always seemed to do these days. "Shall we see if there is any truth to their story? These carvings make me curious."

"Shouldn't we inform the Keeper?" Rhazariel replied shooting a glance up to Tamlen as she tightened on of the bracer's straps.

"She might be interested in these carvings, but let's see if there's anything more before we get excited." Tamlen shot her a cocking half grin. Her brow went up in reaction as he added. "Besides we're already here." He turned then and looked around. "Now they said it was to the west."

Straightening her stance after having fastened the strap Rhazariel began stepping in the western direction. "This way." She said before they took off in a sprint.


End file.
